PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3831, 16 August 1927, Page 10

PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

FOOTBALL AND ITS PHILOSOPHY “ Pater,” like thousands more who are football enthusiasts, went to see the interprovincial Rugby match between Otago and Southland, and of the great number - 1 of spectators there it may be said that everyone except, perhaps, the Southland followers, was astonished at the result of the game. During the first spell “ Pater,” according to a bad habit of his, was very audibly criticising the play as he noted what seemed to him the good and bad tactics of the players. That brought down on his head some sarcastic remarks from one or two of his neighbours, who told him he was not loyal to his townsmen and too one-eyed to see any good in Otago’s play. His reply wag that the Otago players’ team work was too uneven —lacked combination and anticipation, and therefore efficiency, and that, though the Otago men were two points ahead, they were going to lose the game if they could not do better in the second spell. Summed up in the fewest words possible— Otago’s team work was bad. To anyone ‘who has played Rugby for seme years and has had the duty of coaching young players in strategy and tactics (the art of the game) after about 20 minutes’ play the weakness of one side and the strong points of the other soon become very noticeable, and it may fittingly be remarked at this point that there is nothing that brings home so strongly to one’s mind what a lot there is in Rugby 'as having to do a bit of coaching. That soon teaches one that one or two brilliant players do not make a football team, and that there are two classes of players that are nightmares and abominations to a coach, namely, those who are cursed with little wits and those who arc selfish. Such players generally spoil all the plans of the coach and captain for good, combined team work. There is no game under the sun that calls for such a display of mental and physical activity as does Rugby with its 15 men a side. The mental part of a player calls for initiative, quick inventive power, and sudden decision, and the characteristic of anticipation, which tells a player to be in the right place at the right moment, when the powers of judgment and initiative tell him the right thing to do. It is those valuablo qualities of mind that are so necessary for good team -work and good football, and for that reason coaches and captains do not ‘‘suffer fools gladly’’ in their teams. Football is a strenuous game, and to play it well it is absolutely necessary that one should be sound in body and limb. No young man or youth over the age of 16 years should play in matches unless he is in the pink of condition as regards training for the game ; but all that is not of much use to his side if he has not brains

and the instinct for team work. No matter how big or brawny a player is, ho will at times badly let his team down if he cannot and does not use his headpiece. Such players often cause their comrades to do much unnecessarily hard work, either by causing them to lose ground and spoiling the attack leading to a vantage point, or by playing into the opposing side’s hands. Such foolishness is again bad for team work Once a conceited and rather featherbrained young man who thought he had in him the makings of an artist asked the celebrated artist and art instructor, Opie, how he mixed his colours. “ With brains, sir!” was the impatient answer of Mr Opie; and so with football. The game is apt to become mixed, and the side that mixes it best with brains invariably wins the bout. The signs of the best use of brains are seen in the best display of team work, and that was what won the game for Southland against Otago. Much of the value of our now famous British games is in the spirit they cultivate in the minds of both the players and the spectators; hence the sayings: “Fair play is bonny play,” ‘‘lt’s not cricket,’’ and “Play the game!” Those sayings tell us that games played in the proper team spirit beget and cultivate the spirit of duty to our fellows in combined work and the fine moral characteristics of fairplay and unselfishness. In other phases or circumstances in life, in fact, in all branches of life, it is good team work that leads to success. The idea holds in the home, in the school, in factories, banks, commercial houses, in the army and in the navy, and also in war as well as peace.

There is a very wise and old saying that a house divided against itself will fall, and we all know one weak link destroys the value of a whole chain. So it is with all teams, whether game-playing teams or other bodies engaged in doing work where combination of skill and energy are required ; and what is true for small combinations of nien as teams is true also of nations. The nations of to-day that go in for well-thought-out and well-combined team work are the nations that are going to have a contented people and be so successful as to last all others out.

If this great British Empire of ours does not go in for good team work it will surely fall to pieces, and this good team work is what the Bolsheviks and other enemies who envy us do not want to see. They have both openly and secretly been everywhere trying to undermine and destroy it. We have heard of their efforts in all countries lately, especially in England and China. All that ’s said in what is written here is briefly put in that well-known and well-worn saying that British victories were gained on the playing fields of Eton, which in its widest sense means that the spirit and the good moral characteristics of Britishers has been greatly built

up bj' the team work of Britain’s schools and her civic and national societies.

All amateur games are played for active sport and -1 ecreation. The purpose of sport is pastime, and recreation is for exercise and health ; but in organised sport there is demand for skill, intelligence, and team work. There is or should be a reason and purpose for all things that men do, and when their works have far-reaching results they give rise to inquiry and reason as to the good or .evil effects. Such inquiry and reasoning is both the science and philosophy of sport and work, and “ Pater ” trusts in this little effort he has given his readers a little to think over or philosophise upon.

THE RESULTS OF DRAKE’S WORK. As a conclusion to the history of the work of Drake and other British seamen of his period the result of their work upon the sea should have been mentioned. The great work they did was not only to lay the axe at the roots of the tyranny of Spain under Philip, but also immediately to destroy his claim to close the midAtlantic and the southern seas to merchant ships of other nations. Before the Armada was destroyed Elizabeth declared that no nation had the right to claim the sovereignty of the open seas, and that all nations had as much right to sail the seas of the world as they had to breathe the air of the atmosphere. Drake, Hawkins, Raleigh, and Grenville denied Philip’s claim before Elizabeth made that declaration, and Drake was the most active and determined and the greatest of all the great seamen who worked against Spain to make the seas open to all. In the end the destruction of the Armada made those claims good. Another result of the destruction of the Spanish claims and sea power was the great increase of British trade, the wealth of her merchant princes, and the gradual development of Britain’s supremacy at sea. which position, once acquired, she held down to the conclusion of the Great War.

MORE ABOUT BIRDS. THE DAINTY LANDRAIL. By A. H. Messenger, in the Bird Protection Society’s Bulletin. One of the daintiest of our swamp birds is certainly the little striped rail. It is rarely seen, because it is a shy. quiet bird, and as it lives among thick rushes and the tall grass and weeds that grow along the edges of soft and marshy ground, it is generally hidden from sight. This beautiful bird, with its soft, slaty-blue breast feathers, barred with rich brown, and its warm, brown back and sides spotted with white dots, does not fly much, but generally runs swiftly from place to place, or steals cautiously along through the dark tunnels it makes among the tall raupo reeds. Its nest is usually made on some tussock or mound raised slightly above the wet ground of the swamp. The chicks when hatched are tiny black balls of fluff. Little Harry Palmer's home was in one of the suburbs of Auckland city 1 and at the foot of the back garden a narrow strip of swamp came Just through their wire fence. Harry used to play near here on fine days, digging holes in the bank with a small spade; and as he was a great lover of bird life, he always brought back some interesting story of his feathered friends to his father and mother. For some days Harry had been busy making a tunnel under a low. overhanging bank, and, Just before he could finish it, he was taken to the seas”e for a week. It was several davs after his return before he was able to visit his favourite playground ; and at the first stroke of his spade near the entrance to his tunnel he was astonished to see a beautiful, brown-spotted bird dart from the hole, and vanish among the reeds of the swamp. He was greatly excited to find, Just inside the tunnel, a cosy nest containing four eggs. His father and mother were quite as much surprised as Harry when shown the nest ; and, taking care not to frighten the parent bird, they were presently rewarded by seeing four dainty chicks hatched out, each as black as a sloe. As if she knew that they were friends the mother bird would let Harry and his parents come quite close, but if a dog or a cat happened to appear she would utter a warning cry, and in a flash mother and chicks would' disappear among the thick rushes. In due course the little birds grew up and were oftei. seen at the foot of the garden ; and the last time I saw Harry who is now quite a big boy, he told me that each year the landrails make their nest close to their old home in the tunnel which he dug out several years ago.